German Food Options- How to Eat Well and Live Healthily in Germany
While thinking about what to eat in Germany, the vast array of options can be confusing. The common choices, such as beers, baked products, and bratwursts, would more likely be unappealing impressions for anyone looking for a healthy diet. In essence, Germany makes the list of the countries known for a healthy eating lifestyle.
If you are probably visiting the country for the first time, you would want to get the most out of your time there. One of your primary goals would be to have an excellent dining experience. Here’s what you can do to enjoy German foods:
Know What You’re Going to Eat
Knowing what would suit your needs is winning half the battle when traveling to Germany. While it may be lesser-known, the cultural aspects surrounding different dishes are worth knowing. Something a simple as going out to eat at the right spot goes beyond buying any food.
For instance, you may be accustomed to a particular way of dining in your country. The experience would be different in Germany. Know what you are going to eat to make your time in the country exceptionally incredible.
Your Table is a Shared Little Island
It is popular in America for people to enjoy a table on their own while others are waiting. Once you reserve a table, the little space is yours for you to enjoy at that moment. However, things in Germany are different. If you’re sitting on a table meant for four people alone, why should the remaining seats lie there freely? Expect someone to seek the comfort of the free space in your little `eating island.`
Put merely; Germans embrace table-sharing. They look at an empty chair as s good place to sit for an excellent dining experience. People who need personal space when eating may find that to be uncomfortable. However, considering it an opportunity to mingle and interact with the locals wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Forget the `Service with a Smile` Quote
You’ve probably heard that services are best provided when both parties are smiling. While in Germany, this saying wouldn’t apply as much as in other countries. Well, that doesn’t mean that waiters and waitresses are rude or anything of the sort. You wouldn’t receive the level of customer service that would demand a server to smile at you in a restaurant. Germans don’t strive to achieve that in their country. If either of you forgets to smile or make eye contact in the serving process, it wouldn’t be much of a big deal.
Tipping
Ideally, eating is always associated with eating. Many restaurant attendants in American countries are paid lower hourly wages that don’t cater for their daily needs fully. Perhaps the primary reason behind it is that they receive great tips to top it up, provided their customers are happy.
The aspect of tipping in America has no limitations. It can go right up from 10% to 30 % depending on how a customer is satisfied and the restaurant type. Things are quite different in Germany. The maximum accepted tip is usually 10%. If it goes beyond, you are either assuming that the restaurant owner pays them less or that the recipient needs the money.
Cash Payments are Preferred
Now you’ve come to the end of your dining experience at an excellent restaurant in Germany. How do you pay for services? Like in your country, you would probably reach into your wallet or purse and pull out your credit card. You should know that cash payments are preferred in Germany. Unless you have a sizeable bill, the restaurant would more likely disapprove of a credit card payment process. Unless you want staff to have a rather unpleasant reaction when you present them with a card, don’t think about it.
Traditional Food to Eat in Germany
Now that you have an idea of what to expect when you want to eat in Germany, you are probably wondering what you would eat. The multiple options go beyond beer and sausages. Several dishes have evolved as a national cuisine because of various aspects that influenced political and social change. Different regions pride themselves in providing distinct flavors and particular specialties. That said, you can eat any of the following:
Meat Dishes
Traditional meat dishes in German are quite rich and heavy. It is ordinary people to include meat in breakfast, lunch, and evening meals. One typical dish also includes hearty portions of beer, baked squash, and buttery rolls to crown it. Sauerbraten (roast beef stew) is one option made from tender beef marinated in vinegar and various spices. It is traditionally served with boiled potatoes, potato dumplings, or red cabbage. Pork knuckle (Schweinshaxe) is a delicate dish that is roasted to maximum tenderness. It is brittle, juicy and crispy, and tears off the bone with the slightest bite. You can try it out in popular restaurants such as Horfbraeuhaus in Munich.
Another typical meat dish is Rinderroulade (Beef roll) in Saxony. The delicious package of flavors in one dish consists of thin slices of beef rolled around pickles, onions, mustard, and bacon. It is roasted with red wine for a dark and rich flavor. Have you ever tried rabbit stew? If no, you would want to try out Hasenpfeffer. It is prepared from small rabbit parts that are too small to be roasted. Instead, they are braised with dark wine and onions for a considerably long time for delicious and rich stew.
Sausage Dishes
Traditional German sausages have been famous for the longest time. More than 1500 dishes are prepared to introduce different regional specialties commonly sold as street foods. Restaurants also serve them wrapped in mustard and sauerkraut at reasonable prices.
One popular one is Bratwurst (grilled sausages). It is prepared from veal and pork and seasoned with caraway, ginger, coriander or nutmeg. You can enjoy it in a bread roll or load it plainly with ketchup or mustard. Boiled sausages also have a quality difference in terms of the superiority of ingredients used. Locally known as Knockwurst, pork and beef are finely ground to prepare something close to a big hotdog. It is uniquely pink, which is a result of slight smoking after boiling. Grilled sausages are served with Dijon mustard on bread.
Weisswurst is a traditional bacon sausage prepared from pork back bacon and minced veal. It is popularly consumed as a mid-morning snack when one is relaxing. Multiple flavors of lemon, cardamom, onions, mace, parsley, and ginger are used to crown the overall delicious flavor. One can have it with pretzel, sweet mustard, and a beer.
Finally, having a sausage with curry sauce wouldn’t be bad for a grilled dish. Currywurst is prepared from pork and glazed with curry powder and ketchup. Hamburg and Berlin serve it with a bread roll or fries depending on one’s tastes and preferences.
Side Dishes
German utilizes its leading staple food to create a variety of tasty side dishes. In this case, potatoes are used to make pancakes, Kartoffelpuffer, that looks like a latke. The potatoes are grated or mashed and mixed with eggs, onions, and parsley. The mixture is flattened into small pancake-sized circular shapes before deep-frying. You can have it with breakfast with eggs, sour cream, or apple sauce. Kartoffelkloesse (potato dumplings), is also a fine dish made from potatoes. Raw and cooked potatoes are mixed, cooked, mashed and rolled into large sticky balls. They are then boiled in salty water. Potato dumplings are perfect for vegetarians or anyone who is typically looking for a great side dish.
German pretzels are also found on the streets, grocery stores, and in supermarkets. They are prepared thick and with a little salt or sesame seeds to be dipped in mustard.
Desserts
An authentic German dish has to be crowned with a great dessert. Black Forest Cake dates back in the 1980s, where it has always been a party favorite. It is a popular after-main-meal dish that is locally termed as a cake that’s soaked in wine before preparation. A popular local traditional bread known as Stollen would also wrap up a fine meal. The fruit cake is powdered with candy and sugar and is served mostly during Christmas.
Other popular dessert dishes in Germany include Apple Cake and Gingerbread Cookies. The delicious cake is soaked in lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon and baked into a pastry mixture. On the other hand, Cookies are coated with powdered sugar, nuts or dark chocolate and packed in boxes.
German Beer
Germany has a beer-drinking tradition that is made better with popular brands such as Pilsner. You wouldn’t leave end your vacation or holiday without having a couple of drinks. It is common in Bavaria, although many regions brew their versions of it. The distinct taste of brewed German beer results from various Hopps to produce wheat beer or Hefeweizen.
Conclusion
A good time in Germany wouldn’t be complete without trying out the fine traditional dishes the country is known for. The above insight makes the quest easier for anyone who is visiting the place for the first time.